"Israeli model for Ukraine": West formulates mechanism to maintain Kyiv's security - and deter Russia | Israel Hayom

To ensure Ukraine's security, the West is examining the Israeli model, The Wall Street Journal reveals today.

According to the report, as long as Ukraine cannot join NATO, the transatlantic alliance will offer it a security model similar to that enjoyed by Israel. The model will facilitate the transfer of weapons and advanced technologies to Kyiv and will be a step towards future NATO accession. Israel is not a member of NATO, so in the event of an attack on its territory, Alliance members should not come to its aid. However, Israel is a key U.S. ally in the Middle East and enjoys the most generous U.S. military aid since World War II.

The idea began in September with talks between Zelenskyy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, and former NATO secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Under the model, the US will serve as the main guarantor of Ukraine's security, but Britain, France and Germany will also be partners.

"Discussions on this issue are taking place right now," Polish President Andrzej Duda told the Journal. "Russia should already understand that Ukraine has received guarantees for its security and that these guarantees will not expire over time or due to Western fatigue."

According to Western officials familiar with the talks, such an agreement would bring Ukraine closer to future membership of the alliance but prevent the alliance from becoming a party in the war with Russia. A U.S. administration official said the Israeli model would solve the main problems of Ukraine's security. It was also argued that an agreement on the model could influence the course of the current war.

"The agreement has to be binding enough, otherwise Russia won't take it seriously and then it won't be able to prevent future wars," Fabrice Potier, Rasmussen's aide, told the Journal, apparently alluding to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum. Ukraine then gave up its nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees that turned out to be hollow from Russia, the United States and Britain (and later China and France, which joined the agreement).

The proposed model for Ukraine will be discussed at the NATO summit in Vilnius next month, and possibly signed after it.

Over the weekend, G7 leaders issued a joint statement calling for "the immediate, full and unconditional withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukrainian territory." They added that "support for Ukraine is unwavering" and clarified that "peace is possible only after the full withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukrainian territory recognized on international borders."

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